Surgical and other medical procedures must be performed in sterile environments (i.e., environments that are free or at least substantially free from biological contaminants including bacteria, fungi and viruses) to reduce the risk of infection in patients undergoing medical procedures. As a result, great care is taken to maintain sterility and prevent contamination of the environment from people or objects brought into the sterile medical environment.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in demand to be able to bring electronic devices into sterile medical environments. Surgeons and other medical practitioners use electronic devices, for example, mobile or portable electronic devices, to capture and share media from medical procedures and complex pathology and to access software applications useful during procedures. Images of pathology, surgical instruments, techniques, etc., and related medical procedures (whether still images or video) are useful for educating other surgeons, residents and medical students through, for example, medical journals, lectures, and webcasts. The images are also useful for consulting with other medical practitioners regarding treatment and for documenting treatment. Software applications can be used, for example, to fuse live images with superimposed graphics to aid in placement and guidance of medical devices among other tasks. Many medical software applications, however, require that the device on which they are installed be in close proximity to the procedure that is being performed. Because of the usefulness of electronic devices during medical procedures, a risk exists that surgeons or other medical practitioners will attempt to bring non-sterile devices into or around sterile environments and use those devices, thereby increasing the risk of infection to patients.
The inventors herein have recognized a need for a sterile case for an electronic device that will overcome one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.